Mike Bleech: Game Commission, partners not giving up on pheasants

Wild ring-necked pheasants were hunted in Pennsylvania a few decades ago, including in this area.

But things were different then. Habitat was different. Food was different.

Are there pheasants that can take us back to those bygone days of hunting wild pheasants?

The Pennsylvania Game Commission recently stocked 71 ring-necked pheasants that had been trapped in Montana on the Crow Indian Reservation. How we got to that point was a matter of hard work, luck and a lot of cooperation.

Goal No. 1 in the Pennsylvania Pheasant Management Plan is restoring wild ring-necked populations that can be hunted. The establishment of Wild Pheasant Recovery Areas has been the first step. These can be described as areas of at least 10,000 acres that meet specific requirements.

WPRAs were established through an application process. Requirements are: less than 20 percent of the area in forest, greater than 50 percent in row crops, greater than 20 percent in hay and pasture and less than 10 percent developed land.

Partners are essential in establishing WPRAs. Five WPRAs were established. Central Susquehanna was started in 2007 in cooperation with the Central Susquehanna Chapter of Pheasants Forever. Parts of State Game Lands No. 226 are in this area.

Somerset WPRA was started in 2009 through efforts of the Somerset County Chapter of Pheasants Forever. From 2009-11, 964 wild pheasants were released there.

Hegins-Gratz Valley WPRA was established in 2011 with cooperation of the Schuylkill County Chapter of Pheasants Forever. State Game Lands No. 132 contributes to this WPRA. In 2011, this area saw 300 wild pheasants released.

Franklin WPRA was established in 2011 through efforts from the Cumberland Valley Chapter of Pheasants Forever. This includes parts of State Game Lands No. 124. There were 71 wild pheasants released this year.

Another WPRA, Pike Run, in Washington County, was unsuccessful and is no longer in the program.

"We are maxed out on our monitoring capabilities and need to complete the evaluation process before any additional WPRAs can be considered," Ian D. Gregg, the Game Bird Section supervisor, said. "The Pheasant Plan is due to be updated in 2017, and that is the earliest I could envision any additional WPRAs being established."

The map of the potential wild-pheasant habitat can be found at the Game Commission website.

Goals for success of the WPRAs is 10 hens per square mile. During the 1970s, first-class range was more than 40 hens per square mile, and second-class range was 10 to 39.

To achieve this, the PGC set a goal of releasing 300 wild pheasants per year into each WPRA. That generally hasn't been achieved because trapped wild pheasants, which were in cooperation with the South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks Department, have not been available because of low numbers.

Another problem was that a long period of baiting before traps were set, which is considered very important, has not been done.

Now, a new partner has been found: the Fort Peck Indian Reservation in Montana.

"Pheasants Forever did a lot of the foot work. Pheasants Forever paid a lot of the cost of trapping. We only paid for transportation," Lau said. "There's a lot of hope that this relationship with the Crow Indian Reservation is going to be a long one."

Lau said there is no indication that the reservation will not continue to be a willing partner.

In addition to partners already mentioned, Habitat Forever, PPL Montour Preserve, Lower Brule Indian Reservation in South Dakota, the Richard King Mellon Foundation, California University of Pennsylvania, WPRA volunteers and their dogs, and Pennsylvania farmers and landowners have helped to make this project a reality.

It is unlikely that pheasant hunters in the Erie area will see any benefits from this program for several years, if ever. Still, striving for a population of wild pheasants that can sustain hunting is a worthy goal.

MIKE BLEECH can be reached by e-mail at mikeb73@verizon.net. Read more of his columns at nwpaoutdoors.com.